Friday MLB: N.Y. Mets (39-39) at Philadelphia Phillies (39-37)
Two teams who struggled big time in June face off tonight in one of the NL’s best rivalries: Mets at Phillies.
The NL East figured to be a race between these two, but the Mets went 9-18 in June, their worst month since September of 2003. Yet the Phillies could not take advantage, and their half-game NL East lead increased only to three games over the Mets by the end of the month because they went 11-15 in June and endured a 2-11 stretch.. Entering today’s action, the Phillies and Marlins are tied for first, with the Mets one game back and Atlanta trailing by two.
New York at least comes in having won two straight, while the Phillies have lost six of their past eight games and 12 of 15. The Phillies’ problems are many but you can focus on Jimmy Rollins hitting .176 for the month of June and leading NL MVP candidate Raul Ibañez expected to remain on the DL at least through the weekend with a strained groin muscle. Ryan Howard has 20 homers but only one in his last 14 games.
“We’re just not playing good ball right now, plain and simple,” Howard said.
And the Phils turn to a surprising pitcher for Game 1 tonight – Rodrigo Lopez. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2007, when he was 5-4 with Colorado but suffered an elbow injury that sidelined him the rest of the season and required Tommy John surgery. Lopez is 5-4 with a 3.91 ERA at Triple-A this season.
Philly has opened as a -139 money line favorite on WagerWeb.com.
Lopez spent five seasons with Baltimore and had 15-win seasons in 2002 and 2005. The Phillies chose to start Lopez over some of their top prospects because of Lopez’s recent production (he had allowed just two earned runs in his last three starts) and his big league experience. He has never faced the Mets.
The Mets start Livan Hernandez (5-3, 4.04). He is 0-2 in his last three starts, though his ERA is 3.00 and he has lasted at least seven innings in each. Hernandez is 10-8 with a 3.36 ERA in 24 career starts against the Phillies, whom he hasn’t faced since 2006.
The Mets are 0-6 in Hernandez’s last 6 starts as an underdog.
Philadelphia is just 13-22 at Citizens Bank Park, a home record that ranks third-worst in baseball. The Mets lead the season series 4-3.
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